19
Put the ingredients into the loaf tin in the correct order – we’ve numbered them,
to make it easier to follow the recipes.
Troubleshooting – what to do if: the bread collapses
1. The dough may have been too moist. Reduce the recipe liquid by 2 tbsp. If tinned
fruit was used, it may not have been properly drained.
2. Leaving the bread in the loaf tin while it cools can cause moisture released in the
baking process to soak back into the bread.
3. The flour may have been too coarsely ground. Try using finer flour.
The bread doesn’t rise
1. One or more ingredients were added in the wrong quantities – accuracy is
essential
2. The yeast is stale – check the “best before” date – use a fresh, unopened sachet
every time.
The core of the bread is too moist
1. The dough may have been too moist, see above.
2.
The flour may have been too heavy. This problem can occur with rye, bran and
whole meal flours. Reduce the amount of heavy flour and replace with white
flour.
The bread has swollen too much
1. You may have used too much yeast, try reducing it slightly.
2. Too much sugar can cause the yeast to work too fast, and the bread to rise too
much. Try reducing the amount of sugar. If you add sweet/sugary ingredients
such as dried fruit, honey or molasses, reduce the amount of sugar to
compensate.
3. You might try reducing the recipe liquid by 2 tbsp, as this will slow the action of
the yeast.
4. Use coarser flour. Less yeast is needed with fine flour than with the same type of
flour ground coarsely.
The bread tastes bland
Try increasing the amount of salt by up to ¼ of a teaspoon.
